Longitudinal Intercorrelations between Complicated Grief and Posttraumatic Growth among Suicide Survivors

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Grief Studies

Background:

• Suicide survivors face increased risks for complicated grief (CG) and depression.
• Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is possible for suicide survivors, but longitudinal data is scarce.
• No prior longitudinal studies have examined the interplay between CG and PTG in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate longitudinal, bidirectional associations between PTG and CG.
• To examine longitudinal associations between PTG and depression among suicide survivors.

Main Methods:

• 18-month longitudinal study design.
• 156 suicide-loss survivors (aged 18-70) completed CG and PTG questionnaires at baseline (T1) and 18 months (T2).
• Depression was assessed only at T2.

Main Results:

• Complicated grief at T1 predicted reduced PTG at T2, independent of PTG trajectory.
• Posttraumatic growth at T1 showed a marginally significant negative correlation with CG at T2.
• Posttraumatic growth at T1 was marginally significantly negatively correlated with depression at T2.

Conclusions:

• CG levels significantly influence PTG in suicide survivors; high CG hinders growth.
• PTG does not appear to function as a coping mechanism to alleviate CG.
• Findings have clinical and research implications for supporting suicide loss survivors.